★ ROXANA

[doublefists]

from hit canon roxana

Comments

[disingenuous]

[ that makes her laugh a little with the barest flicker of surprise. ]

The funniest thing about my father is that he's never considered I could betray him. [ she smiles. ] You'd do that for me, Vi?

[doublefists]

[ that makes her snort, that first bit. but.

a little flicker of something that's approaching loyalty, and then: ]

Sure. Wahoos, right, they've got to stick together. [ flippantly. ]

[disingenuous]

[ it's not quite amusement, but it broaches it. ]

Wahoo... magnetic enough that we're drawing them all to this side.

[ it's a joke. roxana doesn't need to see more of them on this side. ]

[doublefists]

Yeesh, I know. I didn't mean to start that spark.

[ dryly. ]

[disingenuous]

I wouldn't place the blame on you. You were the victim.

[doublefists]

[ there's like. just the tiniest bit of... validation and like, bitterness there.

still... sort of dry: ]

Yeah, well. Aren't we all.

[disingenuous]

All of us but the young lord Childe.

[ faintly teasing ]

[doublefists]

[ snorts. ]

That's a guy I wouldn't ever call a lord.

[disingenuous]

[ amused ]

That's what anyone is doing whenever they choose to call him Childe instead of Tartaglia. Both of his names are an entertaining choice for him.

[doublefists]

How many names does this guy even have. How many do you need.

[disingenuous]

He and Scaramouche may be compensating for something. Different things, but still something.

[doublefists]

[ SNORTS. she probably didn't mean that in the way vi thinks but she's still laughing.

but, also. after a second, a little more seriously: ]

I think they're both missing something, they just don't know what.

[disingenuous]

[ it was a little of both meanings. ]

They're both a bit more self-aware than I expected, but I think you're right. Whatever has led them both to have so many names means they're striving for something while hiding something.

[doublefists]

Trying on masks until you find something that fits.

[ she tilts her head back. ]

Or just getting tired of being bitten over and over and deciding it's not going to hurt you anymore.

[disingenuous]

It could be a little of both although I don't know either of them well enough to know if it's more of one or the other.

[ she's not the type to shrug, but it's kind of that vibe. ]

But it's also not my business if it's either or both.

[doublefists]

[ a half-smile. ]

Yeah? Don't care that much about their inner workings? [ a beat. ] Guess that tracks. You keep everybody at arm's length.

[disingenuous]

I'm curious, but I don't know if I want to put in that much effort. They keep people at an arm's length in their own ways, too.

It'd take more than asking a few pointed questions.

[doublefists]

I get that. Scaramouche hates it when I'm like even a little bit nice to him.

[ amused. ]

[disingenuous]

I wonder if he knows that makes some people want to be nicer to him.

[ also amused. ]

I'm not, but it's tempting sometimes.